Today's mid-week mini review is going to be a short and simple one. I am currently working on the preparations for a couple of fairly large projects and special promotions. I am spending much of my energy concentrating on those as well as my new job as a writer with LDS.net. I may be making announcements concerning new projects soon on my news/blog page. So stay tuned for that.
Today I will be reviewing a strange little Steam game titled Real Horror Stories Ultimate Edition. I'm not sure quite yet what makes this ultimate besides the fact that you have to pay for it instead of playing it on one of those free flash sites--albeit that the game is only 19 cents on steam at the moment.
Today I will be reviewing a strange little Steam game titled Real Horror Stories Ultimate Edition. I'm not sure quite yet what makes this ultimate besides the fact that you have to pay for it instead of playing it on one of those free flash sites--albeit that the game is only 19 cents on steam at the moment.
But yes, this game is the equivalent--or perhaps a half-step up--of a free online flash game. It is a point-and-click adventure where you experience "real horror stories." The game consists of random fixed screen shots or pictures with interactive elements planted within it. Each screen consists of mostly grey scale colors with blood red contrasts. It has a somewhat eerie and grotesque mood to it but it starts to get old fast.
For a game titled Real Horror Stories there isn't much of a story. In fact, there isn't a story at all. And if the creator did intend to tell a story then I am sad to say I haven't caught onto it yet.
Each screen forces you to click randomly around until you finally find something that actually interacts with your mouse. I can click on the same spot twenty to thirty different times before it final does something useful. It seems arbitrary and random whether something will work or not when you click on it. So this means you spend extended periods of time staring at the same screen waiting for something to happen.
For a game titled Real Horror Stories there isn't much of a story. In fact, there isn't a story at all. And if the creator did intend to tell a story then I am sad to say I haven't caught onto it yet.
Each screen forces you to click randomly around until you finally find something that actually interacts with your mouse. I can click on the same spot twenty to thirty different times before it final does something useful. It seems arbitrary and random whether something will work or not when you click on it. So this means you spend extended periods of time staring at the same screen waiting for something to happen.
Usually when something DOES happen it involved some creepy JPEG face jumping at the screen and screaming bloody murder. It does get a jump scare every once in a while if I'm wearing headphones and am in the dark alone at home. But it just seems like a pointless and shallow way to get scares out of a game.
I suppose the use of relentless clicking is intended to get you off guard or maybe to look closer at the screen for clues That way it can jump at you and give you a scare when you're not expecting it. But it gets old fairly fast and you can basically start to predict when the "jump" moments will happen.
The horrible cherry on top of the pie is the fact that the save function doesn't seem to work very well--or was designed poorly--and you end up repeating the same boring screens over and over just to get back to where you were.
But the pictures and sound do add to the occasional enjoyably creepy atmosphere. It managed to give me a small case of the creeps when I was in the right mood for it. But otherwise the game seems to fall flat.
I suppose the use of relentless clicking is intended to get you off guard or maybe to look closer at the screen for clues That way it can jump at you and give you a scare when you're not expecting it. But it gets old fairly fast and you can basically start to predict when the "jump" moments will happen.
The horrible cherry on top of the pie is the fact that the save function doesn't seem to work very well--or was designed poorly--and you end up repeating the same boring screens over and over just to get back to where you were.
But the pictures and sound do add to the occasional enjoyably creepy atmosphere. It managed to give me a small case of the creeps when I was in the right mood for it. But otherwise the game seems to fall flat.
Summing it Up
Real Horror Stories Ultimate Edition is a random and mostly lackluster computer game. I did enjoy small portions of here and there such as the creepy atmosphere and some of the artwork. I even liked some of the jump scares. But overall the game is just a flash style point-and-click that happens to cost money. For the whopping 19 cents I paid for it--not terrible. But I would never pay more.
Language: 0
Gore Factor: 3
Sex Factor: 2
Scare Factor: 2
Fun Factor: 2
Overall Rating: 2
Language: 0
Gore Factor: 3
Sex Factor: 2
Scare Factor: 2
Fun Factor: 2
Overall Rating: 2